February, 2024 | Adar I 5784

What's Happening in the JLL

6/7th Grade Newsletter

In January, the 7th Graders engaged with Israel and Israelis. They celebrated Tu B'Shevat with flavors of Israel: sachlav (a warm cinnamon flavored drink), techina cookies and 7 Species cookies (that contained 5 out of the 7 species of Israel).

During our final session exploring Israel, students had a chance to pose questions to three generations of Israelis:

• Ziva Green, a JLL teacher who has served in the IDF and whose daughter is currently serving in the IDF
• Noam Vinokor-Meinrath, JLL 3/4th Grade Lead Teacher, a Sabra, born and raised in Israel
• Noy Laufer, WRT's teen shinshinit

The students had so many questions: about life in Israel, army service and how Israelis are feeling about the ongoing war with Hamas.

Thank you for joining us at the 7th Grade family program on January 31 for the introduction to our exploration of Holocaust and Human Behavior.

Rabbi Baken guided us as we heard family stories from the Holocaust and learned the difference between memory and history.



Our 7th graders beautifully articulated the value of this session:

• Our parents connect us to memories of our grandparents' and great-grandparents' generations.
• By their presence, parents demonstrate that knowing about the Shoah is important to them and should be important to us. 
• The memory and history of the Holocaust must be transmitted through us.

On Wednesday evenings in January, 6th graders explored Social Justice and their role in Tikkun Olam. The students who participated in the Lo Ta'amod panel at the Shabbaton (pictured above) shared their projects and inspired 6th Graders to think about devoting their time to Tikkun Olam and Social Justice as they prepare to become BMitzvah next year.

Below, please find some scenes from the Shabbaton!

This month, the 6th graders began an exploration of the Holocaust. In partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, students are exploring their Jewish identities, as well as how and why the Holocaust was able to happen.

We are focused on building

community, relationships, learning and fun!

Strategies we are using to promote this goal include

• Requiring students to "park" their cellphones for the duration of the evening
• Re-shuffling cohorts as necessary to create an environment conducive to learning and general enjoyment for all involved
• Posting weekly updates and class happenings on Remini